Railway-tie.



G. A. LE FEVRE RAILWAY TiE.

APPUCATION FILED FEB. 17. 1917- 1 @1@u Patented 3%. E5, 1918,

unrnn era s aniar ennui.

GEORGE A. LE FEVRE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 WILLIAM C.

HALLEOK, or NEW YORK, rur.

RAILWAY-TIE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgyyttgdl J n. 115 19113 Application filed February 17; 1917. Serial No. 149,183.

dent of the city of New York, county of Queens, and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement 1n ltailway-Tles, of which the followlng is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in reinforced concrete railway ties... The general object of my invention is to produce an inexpensive, durable and substantial railway tie which canbe easily and accurately laid, to which the rails can be very securely and expeditiously fastened, and which will 7 i p 111g drawings forming a part of this speclficonduce to-the formation of a better and safer track than where ordinary ties are used. Most railway ties have a special road top surface which has to be substantially level, and upon which the rail is seated. This means that the ties have to be placed carefully or the rail will not be properly seated,and that if the ties become disturbed it produces a strain on the rails. To obviate this difficulty I make my railway tie substantially circular in cross section, so that it can be dropped with any surface uppermost, and the track rail can be securely seated on this surface. this makes the placing of the tie a very simple matter. I also provide special means for fastening the rails in place. Furthermore I preferably produce on the tie integral ribs which are spaced apart a little more than a the distance of the track gage, so that the rails can be laid inside the ribs and with the outer edges of the rail supports abutting with the ribs. This makes it an exceedingly simple matter to lay the rails accurately, and absolutely prevents the spreading of the rails. Another feature of my improved tie is its great strength, which I provide for by a framework embedded within it,this framework being preferably longitudinal rods which are held together and connected by a rod wound around the longitudinal rods the length of the tie and back again, the opposite spirals of the binding rod being secured by wires where they cross. This makes a trussed reinforcement and an unusually strong tie.

Attention is called to the circular cross section of this improved tie. This permits the tie to be quickly laid without special care as above described. It also provides a It will be at once seen that l forcing frame.

large bearing surface for the tie, permits the ties to roll slightly with the longitudinal movement of the rails so as to enable the track to always adjust itself without undue strain, and furthermore the form of the bottom of the tie permits it to be very easily tamped so that no soft spots will appear under the tie. The tie being of such simple construction can be made at substantially the point where it is to be .used, it can be easily handled, rolled readily to place,

adapts itself to any kind of track, and can be conveniently made in any cross sectional size or length desired.

Reference is to be had to the accompany of rails attached thereto.

Fig. 2 of ties. l 1

Fig.3 is a broken plan view of the tie. Fig. 4 is an end view. Fig.5 is a broken plan of the reinforcis a cross section through a pair ling frame, and

Fig. 6 isa broken end View of the rein- .The tie isprovided with a truss reinforcement having a plurality of longitudinal metal rods 10, and these are bound around by a flexible metal rod 11 which is wound in the form of a double spiral, being formed into a ring 12 at one end of the framework and then returned in a spiral along the outer surface of the rods 10. Where the spirals of the rod 11 cross, they can be bound by tie wire as shown at 13. This arrangement forms a generally cylindrical open framework within the reinforcingmaterial, removed from the center, and disposed rather near the surface, thus imparting great strength to the tie. A concrete tie 14 is cast in a suitable mold upon this frame, the frame becoming embedded in the concrete and forming a very substantial reinforcement. I make the tire circular, or essentially circular in cross section, as the drawings show, and preferably provide it with integral ribs 15 which are spaced apart to substantially correspond with the desired track gage.

As the tie is cast in a mold, it will be seen that theribs of the several ties will all be ,accurately placed, and when theties are laid all that is necessary in laying the track is to place the rails'inside the ribs, force them outward so that the rail supports abut with the ribs, and then fasten them to the ties. Special attention is called to the fact that any surface of the tie forms the top surface, and that the-ties can be readily rolled to the desired position and easily settled into the ballast or bed to the desired distance.

a large bearing vsurface so that it isnot readily displaced, but the ties can rock so as to compensate for any longitudinal move- 'ment of the track rails.

lt will also be noticed that the ties can be readily used in connection with ties of other forms, such as wooden ties, being gradually substituted for-the decayed wooden ties until the track provided with a complete set of concrete tie a Any means can be used for fastening the rails to the ties. I have shown, however, a

' convenient means in which chairs or plates 16 are shaped to fit the surface of the tie and support a rail, these chairs having lugs 1 7 which lie opposite corresponding lugs 18 on the stirrups 19, and the latter extend v partly around the tie and are secured to the lugs 17 by bolts 20 or the like. This arrangement enables the tie to be conveniently insulated, as insulation can be placed between the stirrup and the tie or around the bolts 20.

I do not refer to the fastening in detail because the invention is not limited to any particular fastening. It will be noticed,

however, and it is an important feature of j the tie, that the fastening means whatever Copies of this patent may be obtained for The form of the tie enables it to I settle readily, and at the same time it has of the track rails. I

it may be,'is wholly outside the tie and not embedded in it. Where the fastening means or a part of it is embedded in the tie it is likely 'to' become broken, and it is then difficult to replace; but with my improved tie the fastening is easily effected.

It will be noticed that the ribs 15 ofv the ties besides serving to prevent the spreading'of the rails, also serve to prevent the longitudinal movement of the tie in its bed.

I. As an improved article of manufacture, a generally cylindrical reinforced concrete railwaytie having integral ribs spaced apart to limit the spread of the track rails.

2. An essentially cylindrical concrete rail.- way tie having an essentiallycylindrical open reinforcing framework embedded therein.

I 3.7 An essentially cylindrical concrete railway tie having a generally cylindricalrein forcing framework embedded therein, and abutment ribs spaced apart the'reonJ 4 A generally cylindrical reinforced concrete railway tie provided with integral surface ribs spaced apart to limit the spread five cents each. by addressing the Commissioner (if Ifatents,

' Washington, D. Q. 

